The Supreme Court appeared sharply divided Tuesday along ideological lines on whether the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage, but Justice Anthony Kennedy, a pivotal vote, seemed open to legalizing gay marriage nationwide, reports Reuters.
Kennedy appeared to be tipping toward recognizing a nationwide right to marriage based on his emphasis on the nobility and dignity of same-sex couples.
He also challenged one of the key assertions made by states that ban gay marriage: that same-sex couples do not have the same bonds with their children as straight couples.
Kennedy said little during the second part of the argument, which focused on whether states are required to recognize same-sex marriages from out of state.
At one point Kennedy told attorney John Bursch, arguing in favor of state bans, that his arguments “assume same-sex couples cannot have a more noble purpose” when deciding to marry.
Earlier in the argument, Kennedy suggested that he might be worried about the court moving too quickly to force states to marry gay couples.
“This definition has been with us for millennia,” Kennedy said of male-female marriages. “…and I think it’s very difficult for this court to say we know better.”
Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, who was in the courtroom and issued this statement: “Today’s Supreme Court oral argument capped a compelling collective presentation to the court and the country on the freedom to marry and equality for gay and lesbian Americans. The case for the freedom to marry shone through at every turn in the argument, undimmed and undeniable, and it should be clear to a majority of justices, as it has been to a cascade of lower courts and a national majority for marriage, that there is simply no good reason, no just principle, no argument, no evidence to justify perpetuating marriage discrimination any longer. Gay and lesbian couples, their children and families, and millions of Americans now look to the Court to assure to gay people the Constitution’s guarantees of the freedom to marry and equality under the law. America is ready for the freedom to marry, and the case could not be stronger that it is time to bring our country to the right side of history, leaving no state and no family behind.”
The justices are due to deliver a decision by the end of June on whether same-sex marriage will be legal nationwide.
